Tony Jaa Drops Out Of Fung's KICKBOXER
It was approximately four months ago that international action star Tony Jaa was on deck to possibly star in Tai Chi 0 helmer Stephen Fung‘s forthcoming production of Kickboxer from Radar Pictures, a remake of the 1989 martial arts tournament thriller officially announced a year and a half ago. Since then, casting continued with some missteps along the way while boasting what appeared to be an otherwise promising slate of names joining actor, martial artist and stuntman Alain Moussi for his hopeful lead debut as a Fall 2014 shoot neared, and now with the year approaching its end, it appears the production has hit another bump.
Jaa‘s manager, Mike Selby, has informed Film Combat Syndicate that the actor has officially withdrawn from the production, stating “The production changed schedule to a period where Jaa would not be available.”. Whatever the case may be, it looks like a pretty scary pattern for this particular project, especially after losing fellow potential co-star Scott Adkins back in September citing script issues. More recently, Jaa reiterated his involvement in the film’s production roughly a week and a half ago in an interview with MAAC.
In our exclusive report back in July, Jaa was in talks to star in the new film in a supporting role similar to that of actor Dennis Chan’s performance fifteen years earlier, as Xian Chow, the reluctant master who would ultimately take in protagonist, Kurt Sloan, to train him in a grueling regimen to help meet the necessary criteria to qualify as a Muay Thai fighter, ultimately to avenge the death of his brother, David, at the hands of merciless fighter, Tong Po. Other names aside from Adkins, such as actor and martial artist Georges St. Pierre (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and actor/wrestler Dave Bautista (Guardians Of The Galaxy) were also mentioned throughout the year with the latter tapped to play the villain.
The film does carries some promising tunes as a remake for a new generation of fans that know who Jaa is, and would have surely found a way to deliver such a film in a celebratory fashion harkening back to the authentic fight flicks of yesteryear. It still looks like Bautista is in, although now that the film has lost two of its biggest prospects, what remains to be seen is whether or not the production will be able to find two more actors with the same action star power. It’s possible, but it’s unfortunate that Jaa‘s fans now have to count him out.
Jaa is still expected to earn some high marks next year with the releases of Furious 7 and director Ekchai Uekrongtham’s international thriller, Skin Trade. As for Fung’s Kickboxer, only time will tell, and hopefully we will get some good news in the not too distant future about it, although original franchise director Albert Pyun’s return to the Kickboxer ring seems to be weaving together just fine.
Stay tuned for more info.
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EXCLUSIVE: KICKBOXER Loses Fung, Gains 'In The Blood' Director | Film Combat Syndicate
January 28, 2024 @ 7:38 am
[…] This week now, those bumps have turned into thumps, after losing martial arts action stars, actor Scott Adkins a few months ago, in addition to Tony Jaa just the other day. Moreover, it also appears that Tai Chi 0 helmer Stephen Fung is now no longer directing the film either as of several weeks ago according to sources close to the film’s development, which now brings word that John Stockwell has been tentatively attached to direct the film in his place. Stockwell‘s directorial credits include directed the action comedy sequels Cat Run and Cat Run 2, in addition to his latest action adventure thriller, In The Blood starring mixed-martial artist and actress, Gina Carano, so it appears he may have something to go on for genre fans intrigued by what a remake of an American classic would look like with Moussi in the lead. Previously portrayed by superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 1989 original directed by Mark DiSalle and David Worth, Moussi inherits the role of Kurt Sloan whose mission to avenge the death of his champion brother, Eric, at the hands of merciless Muay Thai fighter, Tong Po, verges him onto a spiritual path of self-discovery and true strength while undergoing a rigorous training regimen under his late brother’s master, Xian Chow. Following Jaa’s and Adkins’ departure, actor and mixed-martial artist Dave Bautista (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Riddick) is currently lined-up to play the main villain with a role to be determined for actor and athlete Georges St. Pierre (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), while other cast announcements remain pending. Ted Field is producing for Radar Pictures with Dimitri Logothetis and Nick Celozzi also producing, while Mike Weber and Peter Meyer will executive produce as well as The Exchange’s O’Shea along with Jeff Bowler and Nat McCormick. Stick around for more updates. […]